Chapter 561: Chapter 583: Phoenix Soars to Fame
âStop talking nonsense, just look at your face, pale as a ghost,â Shen Luhua couldnât hide her distress, âAnâan, go catch one of our old hens and kill it, Iâll make a stew for your sister.â
âOh! Iâll get on it right away.â Sheng An moved quickly, darting out like a little rabbit, and soon the yard was a flurry of chickens and dogs.
Shen Luhua sat on her bed, sighed, and said, âGirl, this is my fault, donât you ever blame Qigang.â Seeing that they were about to get married, she was really afraid that the girl would impulsively decide not to marry, which would be disastrous.
âMom, I donât blame you!â
âDonât blame Qigang.â Sheâd rather take the blame herself than have her anger directed at Xu Qigang.
âYou shouldnât have kept this from me, and he definitely shouldnât have.â Sheng Ning felt a seething anger at being kept in the dark; if she hadnât overheard it today, would she have been kept in the dark forever?
The thing she took pride in was actually a joke? She thought she had changed Anâanâs destiny through her own abilities, but it wasnât really her own doing. Was it all due to someone else?
Thinking about it, she just couldnât help being angry.
She had unfinished business with Living Yama.
âLetâs not talk about this for now, tell me honestly, whatâs wrong with you? Why do you look so awful?â Shen Luhuaâs eyes were sharp; her daughter had either suffered a serious injury or a severe illness.
Plus, the timing of her return clearly wasnât for a casual visit.
âAppendicitis, I had surgery,â Sheng Ning dared not tell the whole truth, fearing it would scare her parents.
âI knew it, you really donât take good care of yourself. How could you have surgery and not tell us? You obviously havenât been taken care of.â Shen Luhuaâs voice was filled with unceasing distress, âThank goodness you came back. Itâs crucial to get you well.â
âUh-huh!â
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Lately, the busiest buzz at the General Union was about the new play âPhoenix,â which sold out at its premiere. Due to its enormous popularity, it completely overshadowed the news of Living Yama and Chen Yingjie being suspended, and Sheng Ningâs discharge and return to her hometown went completely unnoticed.
Everyone had expected âPhoenixâ to be a hit.
Positive, full of energy, dramatically and imaginatively richâespecially the final scene where the female lead ascends the stage of the Vienna Royal Music Academyâit struck directly at the hearts of the Chinese people!
In the early eighties, the country was far behind. Everything foreign was novel and exciting, and to stand on a global stage and bring honor to the nation was considered the deed of a national hero.
The story concluded with the Vienna Royal Music Academy, leaving the audience bursting with imagination.
The first performance, as per tradition, was held internally at the General Union. However, as it was the second installment of âRebirth,â it attracted significant attention from industry leaders, drawing many important figures from the province.
Among them, the most prominent were the President of the National Theatreâs Creative Research Centre and the President of the Stage Beauty Centre.
This time around, the lead of âPhoenixâ wasnât Wu Youli. Her persona didnât match the character of Phoenix. Instead, they went with an experienced actor from the drama club who had recently been promoted, Han Minghua.
Chosen personally by Su Hai, her choice was a profound one. Han Minghuaâs portrayal of Phoenix was closest to Sheng Ningâs imagination.
Han Minghua was clever; the moment she received the script, she knew this play was written specifically for Liu Yilan. To bring the character to life, all she needed to do as a reference was Liu Yilan herself.